DWorld Cup-winning winger Richard Hill kept a low profile during his playing days and in his current role as England manager, talent spotter and one of Steve Borthwick’s key lieutenants, little seems to be changing.
Just ask England’s newest back-rower Chandler Cunningham-South, who only recently learned that the 50-year-old has been giving him some Advice, “Sounds like he knows what he’s talking about,” speaking from vast experience. “He found out I was at the World Cup, probably three months ago,” Hill said. “Chandler wasn’t that fussed about what happened in the past. He wanted to know why I didn’t tell him. I said it had nothing to do with what we were trying to achieve, it was about him, not me.”
This is an anecdote of a man who in his playing days was known as the “Silent Assassin”, whose great French rival Serge Bateson described him as “coming from the shadows, from the darkness”, which was also the case for Hill in the England squad. The epitome of character. Hill doesn’t seek the limelight and has rarely given interviews to the media in his more than seven years as team manager.
Hill began working for Rugby League in 2014, focusing on path development and taking on a coaching role for back-row players. He was appointed manager by Eddie Jones in 2016 and Hill’s role became even more important following the arrival of Borthwick a year ago. The current head coach relies heavily on him for talent identification and development, while he plays a key role in maintaining and improving the club’s relationship with the country.
His influence was evident when we looked at the line-up for England’s win over Italy last weekend. One of the first things Jones did as manager was task Hill with finding some open flankers on a day when England had plenty of ‘six-and-a-half’ but not enough sevens. Soon after, Hill brought then-Ospreys Sam Underhill to Jones’ attention, and Tom Curry, currently sidelined with a hip injury, has often spoken of Hill’s impact on his career.
Meanwhile, Ethan Roots was making his debut at Roma and Hill came to the attention of Borthwick, who had been watching him play for Exeter in the Premiership Rugby Cup when England were at the World Cup last year. “My experience of Richard Hill is that he was one of the greatest discoverers of genius,” Borthwick said. “if [he] Tell me front row back row, I’m listening. “
Then there’s Cunningham-South, who is only 20 – Hill was just eight months old when he won the World Cup – but came off the bench against Italy and performed brilliantly. “There’s no question he’s strong, he’s aggressive,” Hill said. “And he has the physical attributes that are really important to break tackles and get teams over the offensive line. We saw that [against Italy] That cover tackle he made showed he was ready to cover the ground, not only cover the ground, but make sure to dig his shoulder into someone’s ribs if needed. I like this very much. Yes, it’s really fascinating. “
So how does it feel to see the players he helped develop play for the senior team? “I’m absolutely satisfied,” Hill said. “There are a lot of people in management who spend a lot of time watching rugby and trying to get the best out of the players. Seeing the players perform and seeing the team win is very important to us. Of course, it makes people Feel satisfied. But it’s only one game. We can’t let this collapse in the second game. It has to be continuous.
“Personal experience tells me that the moment you think you’ve finished your article, or that you’ve achieved your goal in this environment, you’re gone. Unfortunately, the game continues. People are always looking to beat Institutional approach. It’s not uncommon for a player to perform well and then suddenly disappear for a few games against his opponents: “I liked the way he looked. “We need to dethrone him. And then there’s how you reinvent your skillset.
Newsletter Promotion Post
“Look at Richie McCaw. Everybody says they know how he plays – well, if you think you’re going to think he’s going to be shut down easily, aren’t you? Now sure, there are times when he can It’ll be quieter, but then he’ll find a different way of doing things – that’s the challenge we have to give every player that comes into this system.”
Hill is true to his word and has set his sights on England’s latest crop of U20 players as Northampton back-rower Henry Pollock scored a hat-trick in England’s win over Italy on Friday night , is a name to keep an eye on – and will do so again against Wales this weekend.
Since Borthwick’s arrival, Hill’s remit has expanded and he has “participated in every Premier League game”. He says he is not looking for any specific position – taking a more rounded approach – but there is a clear lack of depth in England’s squad, and the narrow-head and inside-centre positions are certainly on his agenda. Since the Vunipola brothers have withdrawn from the stage and the strength of 32-year-old Manu Tuilagi is gradually declining, this also solves the problem of England’s relative lack of strength.
“We have a club system that integrates international teams and obviously I think what we’re going to try to do is develop as many players as possible,” Hill added. “The nature of the sport is they don’t always fit, so we have the largest pool of players and we can get more players.
“Getting the best out of them makes training better, it allows them to challenge themselves more, which means ultimately, the positions in the team are harder to get into, the games are harder and we get These are better players. I can’t say I didn’t speak around one of the back row players, I spoke as a center forward, but my vote was 99 to 1 so we agreed and we continued to move because These conversations happen all the time.”
